Treasury

Contingent Liability Notification

lord bates: My honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Glen) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.I can today confirm that I have laid a Treasury Minute informing the House of the contingent liability that HM Treasury has taken on in authorising the sale of a portfolio of Bradford & Bingley loans acquired during the financial crisis under the last Labour Government. On this occasion, due to the sensitivities surrounding the commercial negotiation of this sale, it has not been possible to notify Parliament of the particulars of the liability in advance of the sale announcement. The contingent liability includes certain remote fundamental market-standard warranties which are capped at 100% of the final sale price. The maximum contingent liability arising from these remote warranties is capped at the total consideration received, giving a maximum contingent liability of £5.3 billion. A separate set of fundamental market-standard warranties are capped at 20% of the final sale price, giving a maximum contingent liability of £1.1 billion. The fundamental warranties are considered to be so remote that they do not meet the definition of a contingent liability requiring disclosure under International Financial Reporting Standards. However, they are disclosed as remote contingent liabilities under principles of Parliamentary accountability. Further market-standard time and valued capped warranties and indemnities confirming regulatory, legislative, and contractual compliance have been provided to the purchasers. The maximum contingent liability arising is approximately £0.3 billion. I will update the House of any further changes to Bradford & Bingley as necessary. 


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS649

Ministry of Defence

Service Complaints Ombudsman - Annual Report 2017

earl howe: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Defence People and Veterans (Mr Tobias Ellwood) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am pleased to lay before Parliament today the Service Complaints Ombudsman’s annual report for 2017 on the fairness, effectiveness and efficiency of the service complaints system. This report is published by Nicola Williams, and covers the second year of operation of the new service complaints system and the work of her office in 2017. The report recognises the improvements and progress made by the Services in 2017, including the reduction in the backlog of pre-2016 complaints from the old system and where the Services have demonstrated a better quality of evidenced decision making.It also highlights those areas of the system where the Ombudsman judges further work is required to improve the way in which complaints are handled, and makes ten new recommendations. The findings of the report and the recommendations made will now be fully considered by the Ministry of Defence, and a formal response to the Ombudsman will follow once that work is complete.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Update on Media

lord keen of elie: My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Rt Hon Matthew Hancock) has made the following Written Statement:On 11 April 2018, under section 57(1) of the Enterprise Act 2002, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) formally brought to my attention the acquisition by Trinity Mirror plc of certain publishing assets of Northern & Shell. The CMA considered that the transaction may raise public interest considerations for the Secretary of State under section 58 of the Act. The CMA has also launched an initial investigation into the competition aspects of the merger.Having considered a broad range of evidence, I have today written to the parties to inform them that I am minded-to issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice on the basis that I have concerns that there may be public interest considerations - as set out in the Act - on two grounds that are relevant to this merger that warrant further investigation.The first public interest ground is the need for free expression of opinion, and concerns the potential impact the transfer of newspapers would have on editorial decision making. In coming to this decision I have given consideration to the issue of formal mechanisms to ensure that editorial independence is maintained at the acquired titles.The second ground is the need for a sufficient plurality of views in newspapers, to the extent that it is reasonable or practicable. In coming to this minded-to decision I have taken into account that the merged entity would own the largest share of national titles within the UK newspaper market, owning 9 out of 20 national newspaper titles, and become the second largest national newspaper organisation in circulation terms, with a 28% share of average monthly circulation based on circulation figures for 2017 among national titles, including daily and Sunday titles.Any decision to intervene would require Ofcom to assess and report to me on the public interest considerations and for the Competition and Markets Authority to report on jurisdiction.In line with the guidance that applies to quasi-judicial decisions, I have invited written representations from the parties and will aim to come to a final decision on whether to intervene in the merger shortly.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

April Agriculture and Fisheries Council

lord gardiner of kimble: My Hon Friend Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (George Eustice) has today made the following statement:Agriculture and Fisheries Council took place in Luxembourg on 16 April. Counsellor Rory O’Donnell represented the UK. The most substantive agricultural item was a presentation by the European Commission setting out a proposal for a Directive on ‘Unfair Trading Practices in business-to-business relationships in the food supply chain’. The Commission’s presentation highlighted the UK’s Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) as an example of best practice in this field. The UK outlined its agreement with Member State action to tackle unfair trading practices, but stressed the need for any proposed EU-wide legislation to protect well-functioning existing national systems. The Bulgarian Presidency also provided the Council with an update on food losses and food waste, following the adoption of Council Conclusions on tackling food waste in June 2016. The Council reaffirmed its commitment to meeting UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 on food waste. For fisheries, the focus of this Council was a presentation by the European Commission outlining a proposed multi-annual plan for fish stocks in Western Waters. The UK welcomed the proposal’s alignment of the Western Waters plan with the approach taken in the North Sea plan, while reminding Council of the need to find solutions for bycatch stocks in the context of meeting the landing obligation. Four further items were discussed under ‘any other business’: the Spanish delegation requested clarification on interpreting the landing obligation in article 15 of the Common Fisheries Policy the Presidency informed the Council of the outcomes of the TAIEX workshop on the role of wildlife in animal health management the Polish and Danish delegations presented information on African Swine Fever the European Commission informed Council about a proposed Regulation on the transparency and sustainability of the EU risk assessment in the food chain. 


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS647